Grothman to challenge Petri

Apr. 3, 2014

Grothman

Written by

Gannett Wisconsin Media

State Sen. Glenn Grothman has considered a run for Congress for several years, and when U.S. Rep Tom Petri began taking hits for his not-quite-conservative-enough voting record and possible ethics violations, Grothman decided to pull the trigger.

“Given the mess we have in Washington, now seemed to be the time,” Grothman said Thursday morning, shortly after announcing he will challenge Petri for the 6th Congressional District. “I don’t think Congressman Petri has been aggressively attacking those problems. Sometimes he’s part of the problem.”

Grothman, R-West Bend, has represented Wisconsin’s 20th District since 2005 and is currently serving as the assistant majority leader of the Senate. From 1993-2004, he represented the 58th Assembly District.

Grothman said one of the biggest problems that needs to be addressed is a growing dependency on government, and he points to an increase in the use of food stamps between 2000 and 2009 as an example.

According to the USDA, participation in what’s now called Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, went from 17.3 million in 2001 to 46.2 million in 2011, largely due to the economy.

Grothman said that he’d be in favor of changing the parameters of the program, including limiting the types of food users are allowed to purchase in order to eliminate any “incentives.”

“I think it would have to go more for regular staples, rather than junk food,” he said. “I think that would make the incentive, to a certain extent, disappear.”

Grothman said that he believes the bigger problems facing the nation have to be addressed in Washington, D.C.

Petri, 73, was first elected to Congress in 1979. In those 35 years, he has faced little to no competition from fellow Republicans.

“There’s several people who have been mulling it over,” Grothman said. “I think that that would indicate there is a problem there. I think I’m the most qualified because I’ve represented so many different counties in the past. Because I’ve been so high profile on so many other issues, I think I’d have the best chance beating the incumbent congressman.”

In a statement Thursday, Petri said: “My record of pragmatic conservatism will speak for itself. I respect Glenn and the work he’s done at the state level. I will run a strong campaign and I expect to win in August and November.”

Last week, state Rep. Duey Stroebel, R-Cedarburg, announced he was also weighing a challenge for Petri’s seat. He said he will make his announcement by Monday.

According to the Associated Press, John Hiller, a close confidante of Gov. Scott Walker, is also considering mounting a primary challenge.

Grothman doesn’t currently live in the 6th Congressional District, but he said a move to Campbellsport in Fond du Lac County is imminent.